Monday, June 20, 2016

Trump and The Washington Post

By David Gordon

Donald Trump has received a great deal of criticism for his decision six days ago to revoke press credentials for The Washington Post. Does his decision show, as critics allege, that he opposes the First Amendment? Of course the Constitution does not require that one grant press privileges to a particular newspaper; and it is difficult to deny that Trump acted in response to a remarkable amount of provocation. Nearly every day over the past few months, the webpage of the Post has prominently featured several anti-Trump articles. Its campaign against Trump is relentless, and it is hardly to be wondered that Trump has had enough. I have been following political campaigns since the 1960s, and I cannot recall anything that matches the campaign of contumely against Trump. It far exceeds the attacks against Barry Goldwater in 1964.